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Colmans Geweer
The Colmans Geweer '''(Colmans Rifle) are a series of Dutch bolt-action rifles that were designed by Levi Colmans, the great-grandfather of future weapons designer Kevin Colmans, the founder of Colmans Arms N.V. Since post-World War II, these rifles have become popular in the civilian market due to their ubiquity, reliability, and fairly cheap prices. The last version of the rifle, the SSG-48, was spiritually succeeded by the Colmans G97 sniper rifle. History Levi Colman was a former soldier of the Dutch Army, and when fighting in the Dutch involvement of the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, was equipped with the Austro-Hungarian Mannlicher M95 (adopted into service as the Geweer M95). He disliked the rifle's straight-pull bolt-action system, which although it allowed for faster follow-up shots, was more complicated than a standard bolt-action system with a rotating bolt design. When he returned to his home after the conflict had ended, he set to work designing his own weapons, which resulted in the start of the Colmans Geweer series of rifles. The first of the Colmans Geweer rifles, the M1901, was designed as a full-sized, bolt-action rifle that was a potential service rifle to the Dutch Army, but when the weapon was sent for trials, it was rejected in favor of their standard-issue rifle, which disappointed Colmans. Despite this, he continued dabbling with his rifle design, eventually coming up with the M1905, a slightly shorter version of the M1901. After a period of no apparent demand, the outbreak of World War I renewed interest in his rifle. Because of this, he restarted production and promoted them to anyone that would buy them, regardless of which country they were (the Netherlands were neutral during WWI). After his rifles became popular for export during World War I, he started to develop other variants of the rifle, which led to more success for Colmans until World War I ended. In 1940, Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands, and he was forced to restart produce his rifles specifically for the Germans or he would be sent to a prison camp. Colmans had no choice but to obey the Germans until he escaped in late 1944 by sailing across the North Sea to Britain. When he returned in 1945, he discontinued rifle production, but got to work making an accurized version of the earlier M1929, which later became the SSG-48. Unlike the previous rifles, the SSG-48 managed to get into Dutch military usage, until they were replaced by the Steyr SSG 69 in 1969. Roughly three million rifles (all variants together) were manufactured throughout their lifetimes. Geweer M1901 The '''Geweer M1901 is the first of the Colmans Geweer series of rifles, and was considered a potential service rifle for the Dutch Army. However, despite excellent performance during testing, the rifle was rejected in favor of the standard issue rifle at the time due to the straight-pull bolt-action system. It would later be replaced by the Geweer M1905. Features include: * Barrel is 30.5 inches long. * Chambered for the 6.5x53mmR cartridge, and is fed via a 5-round stripper clip. * Designed in 1901, produced from 1904 to 1910. * Effective range is around 400 meters. * Rate of fire: Bolt-action, so it's slow. * Weighs 10.2 pounds. Geweer M1905 The Geweer M1905 is an improved version of the original M1901, featuring a smoother bolt, a slightly different stock design, and a grip extension. It became increasingly popular for demand by both the Allied Powers and the Central Powers during World War I due to its accuracy, especially between France, the German Empire, and the Russian Empire. Many of the said countries often rechambered these rifles to fire cartridges used in their standard issue rifles at the time. Features include: * Barrel is 30.5 inches long. * Chambered for the 6.5x53mmR cartridge, and is fed via a 5-round stripper clip. Many countries in WWI who used these rifles often rechambered them for other cartridges, such as 8x50mmR (France), 7.92x57mm (Germany), and 7.62x54mmR (Russia). The same goes for the M1915. * Designed in 1905, produced from 1907 to 1925 and again from 1940 to 1945. * Effective range is around 400 meters. * Rate of fire: Bolt-action, so it's slow. * Weighs 10 pounds. Geweer M1915 Karabijn The M1915 Karabijn (M1915 Carbine) is the carbine version of the M1905, developed by Colmans after seeing how the M1905 had begotten popular during the war. Production was restarted in 1940 under the German invasion and occupation of the Netherlands. Features include: * Barrel is 24.5 inches long. * Chambered for the 6.5x53mmR cartridge, and is fed via a 5-round stripper clip. * Designed in 1915, produced from 1916 to 1930 and again from 1940 to 1945. * Effective range is around 400 meters. * Rate of fire: Bolt-action, so it's slow. * Weighs 8.6 pounds. Automatisch Geweer M1917 The Automatisch Geweer M1917 '''(Automatic Rifle, M1917) is a semi-automatic version of the M1915 Karabijn, in response to the increasing demand of semi-automatic rifles during WWI, and used a short-stroke gas piston system that threw the bolt handle back to cycle rounds. Although the weapon was exported to other countries, the weapon saw minimal use in WWI. Features include: * Barrel is 24.5 inches long. * Chambered for the 6.5x53mmR cartridge, and is fed via a two 5-round stripper clips. * Designed in 1917, produced from 1918 to 1925. * Effective range is around 400 meters. * Rate of fire: Bolt-action, so it's slow. * Weighs 8.6 pounds. Geweer M1929 The '''Geweer M1929 is an updated version of the M1905, featuring a removable box magazine. Although the rifle could technically be used for service rifle duties, the rifle became known as a marksman rifle due to its high accuracy and its optional scope. Features include: * Barrel is 27 inches long. * Chambered for the 6.5x53mmR cartridge, and is fed via an 8-round removable magazine. * Designed in 1929, produced from 1932 to 1945. * Effective range is around 400 meters. * Rate of fire: Bolt-action, so it's slow. * Weighs 9.1 pounds. SSG-48 The SSG-48 '('S'cherp's'chutter'g'eweer - 19'48) is an accurzied version of the M1929, made after World War II, and the final Colmans Geweer manufactured. When compared to the older variants, the weapon features a different stock design and a longer exposed barrel. The SSG saw usage by the Dutch military from 1949 to 1971, when it was replaced by the Austrian Steyr SSG 69. Features include: * Barrel is 27 inches long. * Chambered for the 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge, and is fed via a 5-round stripper clip. * Designed in 1948, produced from 1955 to 1965. * Effective range is around 800 meters. * Rate of fire: Bolt-action, so it's slow. * Weighs 9.4 pounds. Category:Great War Category:Weapons Category:Guns Category:Rifles Category:World War 1 Category:Bolt Action Rifle Category:World War 2